Live from Music Row Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed GOP candidate for Nashville mayor, Alice Rolli in studio to discuss her campaign’s financial status, top issues for the city, and her stance on the Titans Stadium deal.
Leahy: In studio, our new friend Alice Rolli, running for mayor of Nashville, one of two Republicans against one independent and six left-wing lunatics. The big question is, are you ready for it, Alice?
Rolli: Sure. Always have appreciated on this race question.
Leahy: So here’s the thing, Alice. To win this election you, it’s going to take at least, what’s the number it’s gonna take to win? Is it 2 million? Is it 1 million? What’s the number?
Rolli: I would say all in to win on September 15th. I think you are looking at $2 million.
Leahy: $2 million.
Rolli: I think to get to the runoff, I think you’re in the $700,000 range.
Leahy: Really? Only 700,000 to get to the runoff?
Rolli: I’m very clear on who my voters are and how we have can target them and we’ve only got about three months.
Leahy: All right, so here’s the big question. Here’s the big question because our other friends here in this race, one Republican and one Independent, are not going to get anywhere near $2 million. Alice Rolli, how much money are you going to raise for this election?
Rolli: We will raise what we need to win, and we’ll be out with our first filing report on April 10th that’ll show a strong six-figure start.
Leahy: Okay? Is that a hundred thousand?
Rolli: A girl doesn’t tell all her secrets right at the beginning, Michael. But we’ll get a strong six-figure start.
Leahy: But you’ve got a listening audience here that’s trying to…
Rolli: They can donate today. And today is the last day to go online, alicerolli.com, and donate.
Leahy: But you’re dodging the big deal here. The big question, Alice, is this how much money are you going to report raising this [reporting period]? Is it just $100,000. Is it $200,000? Is it $300,000?
Rolli: We’ll be close to $200,000.
Leahy: Okay, good. Close to $200,000. And that sort of allows you to get to the $700,000, you say that you need to get to the second place in the primary. In the runoff, right?
Rolli: That’s right. Yes. And there are plenty of people that are, don’t want to be on the first report, and they’re happy to be on the second. The second one doesn’t come out until July.
Leahy: Okay. I’m not sure if it’s $700,000. I think it’s probably a little bit more, but we’ll go with that. Let’s talk about issues here. What are your big issues running for mayor?
Rolli: The first issue is public safety and crime. We are about 200 officers short right now in our Metro Police. Our residents are seeing increased call times two-thirds of crimes reported in Metro Davidson County are never cleared.
That means that criminals become emboldened, and then victims of crime start to give up on our criminal justice system. And I would say, Michael Patrick, I hope you will help me as I meet with victims of crime, I do believe that we should reset the way that we look at this from a criminal justice system to a victim’s justice system.
Leahy: Having said that, just to comment on the response of the two heroic officers who went in on Covenant Presbyterian School, they are 200 officers short, but I have to say, my reaction was these guys did a fabulous job and the chief of police, John Drake and his team have done a fabulous job. What’s your thought on that?
Rolli: I 100 percent agree. I want them to have more support and to have less mandatory overtime if they don’t want it so that they can be rested and ready to act in those difficult situations.
And I also want to mention our Metro Police are staffed to all of our middle and high schools, but I think most parents don’t realize that Metro Nashville Public Schools do not want Metro Police there. There is a state bill right now up…
Leahy: Hold it. Hold it. Metro Nashville Public Schools, you’re telling me right now, do not want armed resource officers in schools?
Rolli: What I’ve been told by our police is that we are in middle and high school, and I asked the question, why are we not in elementary schools? I asked that question two weeks ago, and they said the schools don’t want us to be there.
So we do not have Metro Nashville police officers in Davidson County Elementary schools. There’s an opportunity to fix that. There is a bill advancing sponsored by Senator Shane Reeves out of Murfreesboro. A great state legislature.
Leahy: So you support that?
Rolli: Absolutely. And so do most of our teachers, I was a teacher 20 years ago, and we are putting so much on our teachers. And now if we are asking our teachers to also be the frontline of defense against evil, I don’t think that’s fair.
And I think that our school teachers want and there’s a very important letter Michael Patrick, to your listeners, the difference between an SSO and an SRO is those two to four minutes is the difference in saving lives.
Leahy: So let’s talk about SSSO and SRO. SRO is a school resource officer.
Rolli: That’s right.
Leahy: And an SSO is a school safety officer.
Rolli: That’s right.
Leahy: What’s the difference?
Rolli: An SRO is typically reporting up through that county’s police force. So they are a direct line into the police force, managed and run by the police force so that they’re not having to go to hops to make those critical calls. An SSO is, can be a private security guard or. Otherwise, but not a uniformed member of the police of that county.
Leahy: Let’s go to another issue that’s been near and dear to my heart here. The Tennessee Titans Stadium appears to be rolling to approval. Do you support or oppose the subsidies given to the Tennessee Titans to build that stadium? And as mayor, would you continue with these subsidies for the Titans, or would you oppose it?
Rolli: My reading of the current bill is that we are shifting the subsidies from a general fund obligation to a separate bonded tax around the actual stadium. And the big issue with the Titans deal is that it is a reversal of 20 years of mayoral policies. For 20 years, we’ve been giving land away.
I led the fight to save Fort Negley when Megan Berry was giving our protected public park lane to put 27 buildings on it through the side door to her friend. So in the case of the Titans, we are getting the opportunity to reclaim 100 acres in downtown Nashville, and I’m not sure generationally when else we will have that opportunity.
Leahy: Are you in support of the current plan to put a dome stadium here paid for largely by bonds from the state taxpayers and from these bonds that have been set up for the collection of state sales, tax, and special privileges that would’ve normally gone to the city? Are you in favor of the current deal?
Rolli: I am, and in favor of getting 100 acres back in the urban core where we can revise a lot of traffic issues there and then also pick up and increase the taxing authority there. Absolutely.
Leahy: Now, let’s talk about Metro Nashville Public Schools. You said you’re a former teacher. How long did you teach?
Rolli: Just a year, and then I went to work for Lamar Alexander because he was the Republican voice in education that we were missing.
Leahy: Did you teach here in Nashville?
Rolli: No, I taught in Los Angeles public schools and a well-intentioned public policy that created a teacher shortage. Somebody said, let’s make class sizes, 20 to one, and that’s a great idea, but nobody thought about, do we have enough teachers? So I was an undergrad at Stanford, and LA Unified went around all the colleges, and that’s where I ended up.
Leahy: You went from Stanford to LA public schools for a year.
Rolli: That’s right. And it was the best place to put an international relations degree in works. And it was a great experience. And I still am in touch with the principal of the school that I worked for.
Leahy: What did you teach?
Rolli: Ninth and 10th grade. English and Humanities, which is English and history.
Leahy: What was that like?
Rolli: My fourth day teaching was 9/11.
Listen to today’s show highlights, including this interview:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Alice Rolli” by Alice Rolli. Background Photo “Davidson County Courthouse” by Michael Rivera. CC BY-SA 4.0.
